@Kyk - Quite a way from Derby, about an hour's drive IIRC.

I don't see a chip reader. So this thing might have been of some use a couple of years ago, but it wouldn't work now.

In most of the UK the trucks are very low tech. Most local authorities still think pre-mixing with molasses is a the state of the art. Which could be why we're having so much difficulty in the UK.

However the main reason is probably that central government is obsessed with cutting costs and told local authorities to budget for six days of snow and ice this winter. The justification? Global warming of course. So far it's been going on for over three weeks in places and the forecasters reckon there's another week to come.

You've just got to love central government that tries to blame other bodies for everything, but interferes with everything those bodies do. And when that meddling turns to shit? Blame the other bodies of course.

Hey, Genesis would have been a lot cooler were any of it true.

@IndieExStonerKid

Oh look! It's a Daily Mail reader. Sorry but there is no ban on conkers or, indeed, snowballs in the UK. Only in the minds of the right wing, sensationalist press. You'll be telling us next that the government have banned christmas and immigrants eat swans. Go back to your groundless bigotry in isolation and leave the rest of the world alone.

Getting back on topic: When I saw this story two words came to my mind: "Creep" and "Function".